Knitting-machine needle.



No. 757,378. PATBNTBDA'PR. 12, 1904-.l

` o. R. wooDWARD.

KIT'I'ING MACHINE NEEDLE. APPLICATION FILED lue. 24, 190s.

N0 MODEL.

j UNITED l STATES Patented April 12, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

KNlTTlNG-NIACHINE NEEDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,378, dated April 12, 1904.

Application led August 24, 1903.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit kn own that I, CHARLES RICHARD WOOD- WARD, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Nottingham, in the county of Nottingham, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Knitting-Machine Needles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention l relates to latch-needles of the kind used in knitting-machines; and it consists of a latch-needle constructed as herein described and arranged to operate so that the loop formed in the process of knitting cannot be knocked over the needle-head unless the thread for a new loop has been fed to such needle, whereby press-offs7 and the incident losses are avoided.`

The object of this invention is the construction of a latch-needle so arranged that the old loop in the ordinaryr process of knitting cannot be knocked over the needle-head unless thread for a new loop has been fed to such needle, whereby press-oifs and their consequent losses are avoided.

In the drawings which are attached hereto, Figure 1 is a plan of the improved needle. Fig. 2 is a section on the line A A, Fig. l; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are diagrams illustrat- .ing the action of knitting with the improved needle.

According to this invention the needlelatch a, which is pivoted between the sides of the needle at c and has a spoon end for covering the point of the hook e, is provided with a projection or nose a?, which projects above the sides of the needle, as shown in Fig. 2, when the latch is open. The sides of the needle form a recess f, which is large enough to contain the whole of the latch except the projection or nose d, and it is therefore impossible for the old loop to pass under the spoon end of the latch, as in an ordinary needle. At the bottom of the recess f and under the pivot c there is an opening g to receive the projection Z when the latch is closed, and the parts are so proportioned that no part of the latch ever projects beyond the back of the needle.

The action of the needle according to my method of working is illustrated in Figs. 3,

Serial No. 170,543. (N0 model.)

4, and 5, which show also a form of sinker adapted for use with the improved needle. In Fig. 3 the needle is shown in its normal position, with the old loop round the latch as. When the needle reaches the knittingcam, it rises until the latch is clear of the loop la, which is held down by the lower neb of the sinker c'. The sinker is then withdrawn to permit of the thread-carrier]I laying the thread le for the new loop, this thread being laid below the latch-pivot, as shown in Fig. 4, instead of above it, as with an ordinary needle. The sinker c' is then moved forward, and the upper neb Z draws the loop. At the same time the needle descends, and the newly-drawn loop, coming into contact with the projection d, opens the latch to permit the old loop la/passing under it, as shown in Fig. 5. The sinker z' is then withdrawn to allow of the loop L passing the sinker-nose m as the needle descends to its knocking-over position, after which the sinker returns to the position shown in Fig. 3 and holds down the work as the needle rises to its normal position. When, however, a thread breaks or from any other cause is not fed to the needle for the new loop and the needle descends to its knocking-over position, the old loop passes over the latch into the needle-hook instead of under the latch and over the hook, as with an ordinary needle.

What I claim as my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A knitting-machine needle provided with a recess and a latch arranged to lie in said recess, the said latch being provided with a nose which projects above the needle-stem when in its open position, substantially las set forth 2. A knitting-machine needle provided with a recess in its stem, and a latch pivoted in said recess, one end of said latch being spoonshaped and arranged to lie in said recess'when in its open position, and its opposite end provided with a nose that is arranged to project outside and above the surface of the needlestem when the latch is open, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a hooked needleshank, a double-ended pivoted latch, a spoon at one end and a nose or projection at the IOO other end of the latch, the said needle-shank to this specification in the presence of two sul)- being provided With arecess to receive and scribing Witnesses. cover the spoon when the latch is open and the nose or projection when the latch is closed, CHARLES RICHARD WOODWARD' 5 and With a slot at the bottom of the recess, W1tnesses:

substantially as herein set forth. C. HERBERT HoLLEWoRTH,

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine WILLTAM H. POTTER. 

